The present invention relates generally to a powder actuated tool and, more specifically, to such a tool having a novel safety guard thereon.
A powder actuated tool of the type herein contemplated is designed to accept a nail at the forward end of the barrel and a cartridge at the breech end of the barrel. The tool is pressed against a work surface to release a safety mechanism and then fired. The spent cartridge is removed, a new nail placed in the barrel, a new cartridge placed in the cartridge chamber and the process is repeated. On some such tools a safety guard is provided on the end of the barrel to protect against flying material and thereby protect the operator and bystanders. The guard is retained on the barrel by a threaded nut. During repeated use of the tool, the nut may loosen, causing the guard to become disconnected from the barrel. It is the object of the present invention to provide means for preventing the nut from loosening thereby assuring that the guard will remain fixed to the barrel of the tool during operation of the tool, yet allows easy removal of the barrel during disassembly of the tool for repair or maintenance.